Five players to watch from the Metropolitans, or as I call them here in New York, the minor leagues.

As much as it pains me to say it, in a flawed NL the Mets are still probably the favorites to make the WS and are the only team who could actually be favored against an AL opponent. They will have to navigate some big problems to get there, and it is too bad they don’t have an impact-type young outfielder like Lastings Milledge to strengthen their hitting attack.

There is no need to discuss David Wright or Jose Reyes here, so let’s look at some other key players:

John Maine A pitcher that I think is underrated, though not without reason. There is the concern about the IP spike, but 2007 showed that he was a top flight pitcher. Does his success and the reclamation of Oliver Perez redeem Rick Peterson? Maine’s 8.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 are very solid numbers, and in the second half his K rate jumped to 9.2. An ERA under 3.50 would not be a surprise.

Carlos Delgado As much as anyone on the team, his performance will be a big factor in the team’s fate in 2008. He was a bit unlucky in the first half, and was still actually consistent in the power department, with 12 HR in each half, and PX ratings over 120. The bad news? His HR/FB ratio, which in the three years prior to 2007 were 22%, 22% and 23%. In 2008 he saw a huge drop to 13%. If this is real then a continued decline is to be expected. As with many similar issues, no one knows for sure what he will do. His 2008 owners, should he hit 35 HR, cannot pat themselves on the back; it was simply good fortune.

Luis Castillo Another old guy that is reliable, such guys can easily be the type that lead to fantasy gold. I am always willing to go an extra dollar for reliability. He will have a contact rate over 90%, an OBP between .360 and .390 and a BA close to .300. The steals are primarily a function of opportunity and that can be almost impossible to predict with any precision despite what anyone else says. The last five years: 18%, 11%, 10%, 18% 13%. At $10 in my high stakes auction, he should be a solid producer for me.

Mike Pelfrey He has a nice mix of ML quality offerings, ability to get Ks and ability to get ground balls. However, the problem here is that we still cannot say for certain whether he is major league caliber or not. His 33% hit rate, IF he were of ML caliber, could be expected to regress. But it may not because he may not be any good. I am still optimistic and at $1 you can’t go wrong, but despite his pedigree and minors’ performance he still may not be a major league quality pitcher.

Brian Schneider Interestingly in most drafts I have seen he is being undrafted while Ramon Castro is getting drafted, despite the fact that right now Schneider is the starter. One may be tempted to take Schneider hoping that since he is a starter he may get some good counting stats, but he simply is not a major league hitter anymore. He makes good contact and has a good eye, with an 85% CT rate and a 12% BB rate, but he simply has such a limp bat that his contact rate does not develop into a good batting average, as his .224 xBA will attest. His last three xBAs: .283, .246, .224. Don’t expect that trend to reverse.